Closer
by NeverMessWithTeddyBears
Summary: Four years is a long time, Mike thinks, and it surprises him how his heart literally stops beating once Quinn looks his way.


**Closer**

* * *

 _"Four years no call, now you're looking pretty at the hotel bar."_

* * *

Up until the last minute, Mike wasn't sure he'd be able to hold up to the highschool reunion RSVP he sent in months ago, but luckily the preparations for the latest tour he was working on finished on time and he was able to not waste his already-bought plane ticket, much to the delight of one Rachel Berry who took it upon herself to organize the entire reunion.

It's only now, as Mike's sitting in his first class airplane seat, that he realises he hasn't seen Rachel in at least a year - almost two, even, if he doesn't count the all-too brief encounter when he went to the opening night of her newest Broadway play. With this realisation, he starts going through his list of highschool friends, trying to remember when he last saw them and is surprised once he realises that not seeing Rachel in almost two years is practically nothing compared to when he last saw other members of New Directions, or anyone from his graduating class.

It's not that he was avoiding them, or that he didn't want to see them - on the contrary, Mike quite enjoyed spending time with his longtime friends and tried to at least text regularly, if only for birthdays or anniversaries, even making it to all the weddings. But the more tours he did, the more people wanted him to do and it was like a neverending cycle of work and travelling; not that he's complaining. Mike loves his job - loves dancing more than he does anything else in his life, feels the need for it more than he feels the need to breathe - and enjoys each tour better than the last. The whole thing does leave little room to meet up with friends and family, especially with constant travels.

Suddenly, he's more excited for the reunion and to see everybody, and as he falls asleep in his seat, he finds himself humming " _Don't Stop Believin'_ " under his breath.

* * *

Mike leaves his stuff in his old room after greeting his parents and some small talk, mostly to update them on his life since they last spoke on the phone a week ago. He's been keeping in touch with his parents regularly no matter where he is, especially trying to mend his relationship with his father - which has gotten significantly better once Michael Chang Sr. saw the amount of success Mike has achieved and that his son was able to lead a comfortable life, even with something the older man considered as trivial as dancing.

After a quick shower, Mike checks his phone to find messages from Rachel. She mentions that - since most of the original New Directions members are in town for graduation - she's decided to invite the others for a special dinner at the nearby fancy reastaurant, which is part of a hotel that Rachel opened after deciding to make an investment following her successful break on Broadway.

Mike immediately replies that he'd be more than happy to come, and after Rachel gives him all the details - including the dress code - Mike finds himself in front of the hotel at exactly 8:30pm and makes his way towards the restaurant inside.

The waitress inside points him to the reserved table but, after not catching sight of anyone he knows, Mike decides to grab a drink at the bar. He arrived by cab so he's not worried about staying sober, and he's prepared to have a nice evening with his old friends.

That's when he notices her on the other side of the bar.

Quinn Fabray looks as beautiful as the last time he saw her - if not even more so - and only then does he realise it's been four years since they last crossed paths. Four years is a long time, Mike thinks, and it surprises him how his heart literally stops beating once Quinn looks his way.

When she smiles, Mike's not sure how he's even breathing.

Slowly, Quinn approaches him, and puts her arms around his neck in a hug. Mike returns it, his hands easily finding her waist and they stay there even as she moves away. Her hands, though, remain on his shoulders.

"Mike! It's been too long.", Quinn says and her smile seems to have somehow gotten brighter, wider, even more welcoming; as if Quinn Fabray is genuinely excited to see him. The look is unfamiliar to Mike, as the two have never been incredibly close, but he quickly decides it's one he wants to see more of.

"I guess we've all been pretty busy, huh?", he says.

"So I've seen.", Quinn replies, a glint in her eyes. "Touring with Beyoncé? Impressive."

Mike bows his head, shrugging. "She's a friend.", he says, acting out modesty. Mike moves his hands from Quinn's waist and grabs her hands instead, moving her a bit further away to look at her dress. Quinn is wearing a red cocktail dress, her hair still kept shorter, and she looks absolutely breathtaking.

"You look.. _wow_.", he says, almost breathless and she laughs.

"You clean up well yourself.", she returns the compliment. They look at each other for a few moments, saying nothing, before Quinn straightens and lifts her chin up. She's still smiling as she turns around, going by his side and putting an arm around his. She then starts leading him towards the restaurant in the back.

"Come on, Chang. You can look at me later. Berry will kill us if we're late."

Mike laughs, his face reddening.

* * *

Quinn successfuly replaces the namecards (because _of course_ Rachel would have a seating chart, of course) so that she's sitting next to Mike, and even when he's talking to other people around him, Mike is constantly aware of her presence, can feel the heat of her body as they instinctively lean toward each other.

Puck has produced a guitar from somewhere, and the room is being filled with the sweet voice of Tina singing what Mike thinks might be a Sia song. He's pretty sure Rachel sang " _Funny Girl_ " at least twice by now, the piano that stays in the back corner of the room not being ignored, either.

Tina finishes her song and Artie takes over, with Sam grabbing the guitar from Puck who's grateful for the break, going back to what was left of his meal and quickly picking up a conversation with Kurt.

As Sam starts strumming the guitar, Artie picks up on the song and soon their voices are mixing together in perfect harmony. It's a slow song, and Santana and Brittany (who have been dancing during the last three songs, at least) change their dance accordingly, Santana putting her arms around Brittany's neck and Brittany's hands finding their home on Santana's waist.

" _...how easy it would be to show me how you feel, more than words is all you have to do to make it real_ _._ _.._ "

Suddenly, Quinn finishes her conversation with Mercedes - whom she's been talking with for most of the night - and turns to Mike.

"Dance with me.", she says and it's not a question but her voice isn't demanding, either. It's soft, inviting, and Mike can't say no to her.

She takes his offered hand and they get up, their fingers intertwining as his other hand finds its place on her waist, and her other hand placed on his chest. Mike's sure she can feel his heart almost beating out of his chest.

They fall into a simple dancing, nothing complex, and as he twirls her around she laughs. Once she's back in his arms, she leans her head on his chest and they remain like that until Artie and Sam finish the song.

Quinn lifts her head, then, and looks up at him. "Not bad, Chang.", she smirks.

Mike chuckles, shaking his head. "Thank you, I try."

Her tone is playful. "How many drinks do I have to buy you before I can get you to sing with me?"

Mike pretends to consider. "Quite a few."

She smiles, and accepts the challenge.

* * *

It takes two drinks.

Quinn calls him a lightweight for giving into her so easily. Mike shrugs, not telling her he would've been up to singing with her every day of the week - even if his voice isn't his strongest suit.

Sam is still the one on the guitar and they quickly settle on a song they all know.

They're sitting down on their seats even though everyone's encouraged them to stand up. Mike is more comfortable this way when he won't be dancing and Quinn caught on to that fact early on, helping out with a lie about how she doesn't trust herself on her feet anymore after that last glass of wine.

Mike laughed, and whispered "lightweight" under his breath. When Quinn rolled her eyes, a smile on her features, he knew this would be their inside joke from now on, and he didn't mind one bit.

As Sam starts strumming he chords, Mike wipes his sweaty palms on his pants. He hasn't been this nervous in a while, so he lets out a deep breath in order to calm himself.

Suddenly, he feels someone grabbing his hand and when he looks down, Quinn's fingers are intertwined with his. Mike looks at her, as his nerves settle, and when she smiles at him, nodding, he feels like he can take on the world.

" _I was scared of dentists and the dark. I was scared of pretty girls and starting conversations._ ", he sings and once he finishes the verse, Quinn joins in, their voices mixing and blending together in an almost-perfect harmony.

" _Lad_ _y, running down to the riptide,_ _taken_ _a_ _way to the dark side, I wanna be your left hand man. I love you, when you're singing th_ _at_ _song and I got a lump in my throat 'cause you're gonna sing the words wrong._ "

When Quinn takes over the next verse, Mike thinks he's been transported to a whole other world.

And he wishes he could stay there forever.

* * *

They split the cab home.

It's unnecessary and, contrary to what he initially believed, a few of the New Directions members did actually stay sober to fill the role of the designated driver.

Mike dismissed their offers maybe a bit too quickly - and, judging by their poorly-hidden smiles, they took notice - but he can't find it in himself to care.

Especially when they end up holding hands, after the all-too-awkward routine of casually keeping their hands close and him moving his fingers slowly until they met hers. He mentally hits himself for how many first-date cliches he's filled tonight - made even more embarrassing by the fact that this technically wasn't even a date.

Way too soon for his liking, they reach her mother's house, where she's staying while in town for the highschool reunion.

He tells the driver to wait and keep the meter running and follows her out, walking her to the front door.

He finally breaks the silence. "So, I guess I'll be seeing you at the reunion?", he asks and immediatelly wants to hit himself at the stupidity of the question, but doesn't.

Quinn nods, smiling. "Yes.", she says. "Although,", she starts carefully and Mike latches on to her words, listening intently. "I wouldn't mind if I saw you before."

It's as if a weight has been lifted off his shoulders, and Mike smiles, light laughter leaving his lips.

"I wouldn't mind that, either."

Quinn moves closer to him. "Yeah?"

"Yeah.", Mike nods.

He doesn't know who initiates it, but soon they're kissing and his hand cups her cheek carefully. She smiles into the kiss, moving a hand through his hair.

All too soon, it's over and they step away to breathe again, but Mike is pretty sure he can see stars and fireworks and adds another cliche to the night's seemingly neverending list.

"So,", she says, biting her lip. "I guess I'll hear from you later, Chang."

"Definitely.", he replies instantly. Quinn laughs and, God, he'll never get tired of hearing that sound.

He recutantly stars walking away, but isn't even halfway back to the cab when he turns back around.

"You know, I don't have a plus one for the reunion."

Quinn, who he caught just as she was opening the door, looks at him, a spark in her eyes. "It just so happens I don't have one, either."

Mike nods. "That's good.", he says. "Really good."

Quinn giggles and covers her face with a hand.

Mike sighs. " _God_ , I wanna kiss you again."

Quinn's laughter rings through the empty street. "Go home, Mike.", she says. "You can kiss me tomorrow."

* * *

(He does.)


End file.
